


Hall Pass

by thirty2flavors



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Coming Out, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Humour, bisexual spiderman pointing meme, post-tftbl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29912814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirty2flavors/pseuds/thirty2flavors
Summary: “Yeah?” Sasha snorted as she settled down into the opposite end of the sofa, feet kicked up near Rhys’ lap. “Who suckered you into that one? An ex-girlfriend?”“Uh… sort of.” Why did he sound so timid? He cleared his throat and stared straight ahead at the screen. “Ex-boyfriend, actually.”//Rhys finally has a conversation with Sasha that he's been procrastinating.
Relationships: Rhys/Sasha (Borderlands)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 30





	Hall Pass

**Author's Note:**

> This is sort of more a long-form headcanon than anything else, but it was the kind of thing that wouldn't stop bothering me until I'd written it, so here we are! Featuring: just a bunch of headcanon really.
> 
> Set in some nonspecific time between Tales and BL3, I guess. Or maybe it's an AU. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Choose your own adventure. 
> 
> Additional notes: this features some brief discussion of some past/off-screen biphobia. Also lots of allusions to sexual content although none happens on screen. 
> 
> Lastly: shout-out to [@michellespenscratchz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MichellesPenScratchz/pseuds/MichellesPenScratchz) for "Schlooting in the Rain"

Rhys scrolled through the ECHO cast offerings with a flick of his wrist and a bored sigh. Old. Boring. Boring and old. Seen it, seen it, never wanted to see it—

“Y’know, for the amount I pay for this service, I expect to have better selection.”

“Relax, Moneybags.” Cradling a large bowl of popcorn against her hip, Sasha rounded the corner of the sofa and rolled her eyes. But as she caught sight of the screen, her eyebrow arched. “All right, some of this stuff is pretty old. _Rakk on a Hot Tin Roof_? Felix liked that one.”

She set down the popcorn bowl forcefully enough that Rhys grabbed his beer to steady it. Mentions of Felix were typically a bad omen for Sasha’s mood; he hastily waved his hand to skip to the next screen. “Ooh, _Schlooting in the Rain_! That one’s not so bad.” 

“ _You’ve_ seen _Schlooting in the Rain_? Thought you hated musicals.” 

“No, Vaughn hates musicals, and hey, it wasn’t my pick.”

“Yeah?” Sasha snorted as she settled down into the opposite end of the sofa, feet kicked up near Rhys’ lap. “Who suckered you into that one? An ex-girlfriend?”

The casual dig—barely even teasing, by Sasha’s standards—struck with a sudden jolt of discomfort. They’d never had this conversation yet, had they?

It wasn’t like he was _intentionally_ keeping anything from her. Why would he? It wasn’t even a secret, really—it just hadn’t come up organically. He’d been planning to tell her, eventually. When the opportunity presented itself.

Like it just had. 

“Uh… sort of.” Why did he sound so timid? He cleared his throat and stared straight ahead at the screen. “Ex-boyfriend, actually.”

He braced for an audible reaction, but as seconds ticked by without one, curiosity won out and he turned to look at her. Sasha was staring at the TV, her expression nonplussed, her right arm stretched towards the popcorn.

He must have looked expectant, because as she grabbed a handful she caught his eye and then said, “Oh.”

“Oh?” Rhys heard himself repeating before he could think better of it. “That’s it?”

Sasha shrugged one shoulder, contemplatively chewing her popcorn. “Well, what do you want me to say?”

It was a fair question. Once she asked it, Rhys realized he didn’t know the answer.

“...I dunno.” He paused. “Does that bother you?”

Sasha stared back at him, her blank expression hinting at nothing deeper than confusion. Rhys was suddenly, keenly aware this was one of the more uncomfortable conversations he’d had, and not for any of the reasons he might have predicted. “Why would it bother me?”

“I dunno,” he said again. “Sometimes people get weird about it.”

Weird was perhaps an understatement; Stacey’s disgust and the subsequent weeks of suspicion and interrogation were memories better left repressed, or at least confined to one of the three complementary TherapyBot sessions offered to Hyperion employees. 

“That’s stupid,” said Sasha, so refreshingly un-Stacey that his heart did one of its extra little flutters he’d come to associate with Sasha alone. “Plus I’m not exactly surprised.” Then, well before he was halfway through processing that information, she reached for another fistfull of popcorn and said, “I’ve been with women before.”

The record in Rhys’ brain scratched. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah. I mean, not as many. My marks tended to be guys, so…” Though she shrugged as she ate more popcorn, Rhys sensed a little bit of nervousness beneath the nonchalance—at least until her eyes narrowed and she jabbed him with her foot. “Hey! What’s that face for? Now you’re being weird about it.”

He raised his palms in surrender as her foot-poking continued. “No, no, it’s not that, it’s just… were they all marks?”

“Most of them.” Now the shyness was palpable in the way she shrugged. “But so were most of the guys.”

Rhys’ frown returned, deeper than before.

So did Sasha’s glare. “It wasn’t anything I didn’t choose to do, okay?”

“I just—”

“Don’t look at me like some charity case. I hate it when you do that.” 

“It’s not charity, Sasha, it’s concern, you—”

“ _Rhys_ ,” she ground out, so clear a warning that even his foolhardy tongue stopped in its tracks. 

Some of Sasha’s defenses had yet to fall away. Maybe they never would. 

Rhys forced himself to look back to the screen. “Okay,” he said after a moment. “Sorry.” 

Sounds from the ECHO cast expanded to fill the silence, but Rhys barely heard them, stuck on replaying the last few minutes in his head. That wasn’t how he’d expected this conversation to go. 

Not how he’d wanted it to go, either.

He watched Sasha from the corner of his eye. She was looking at the screen too, but she was fidgeting with the drawstrings of her hoodie, wrapping them tight around her fingers before unwinding again. He remembered the jolt in his stomach, the slight hesitation before _boyfriend_ —not like leaping off a cliff, but maybe walking off a large step.

Rhys had exes; Sasha had marks. He’d had this conversation before, several times, for better or for worse. 

Had she?

“So…” he began, watching as Sasha wound the drawstring around her index finger. “If you could, though—not as a mark—would you?”

Sasha’s restless hands paused. “Yeah.” She regarded him suspiciously. “Why?” 

He grinned. “‘Cause, it’s cool! We have something in common.”

A tiny smirk cracked her lips. “What, sex with women?”

“ _And_ men.” He rolled his eyes and shoved her knee. “C’mon. You know what I mean.”

Her smirk grew to a smile. “Yeah. I do.”

“See, now I’m curious—”

Sasha raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“What’s your type?” He pressed a proud hand to his chest. “I mean, I can infer some things. Handsome, ambitious, fashionable…”

“Yeah, well, there’s exceptions to any rule.” Sasha’s eyes twinkled as she pushed herself up on her elbows. “Why? Do I get a hall pass?”

“No way,” Rhys grimaced. “Your chance of success is way too high.”

Sasha’s bottom lip jut out in a mock pout. “Aw, would you be jealous?” 

“Yes, obviously!” He considered it for a moment. “Hypothetically, though…”

Sasha tilted her head to the side, her forehead scrunched in concentration. “Not sure. I haven’t thought about it much.”

He puffed out his chest. “Because you’re too in love with me. I get it. I—” 

Sasha’s foot poked him in the ribs. “I mean that it’s not like there’s one person in particular—”

“So you’ve got a whole list?” Rhys yelped.

Every last trace of nerves was replaced by a coy expression as she sat up, evidently delighted by his jealousy. Cold. “I notice people.”

“People like...?” When she still said nothing, he narrowed his eyes. “C’mon, work with me here. What about… Moxxi?” 

“No.” The answer came quickly and emphatically, accompanied by a nose scrunched in distaste. “Definitely not.”

“Really?” Rhys’ eyebrows shot up. “A definite no on Moxxi? Seriously?” 

“Trust me, if you grew up in a caravan with Fiona and that poster, you’d feel the same.” Rhys twisted on the sofa to face her, his mouth frozen open in amusement, and Sasha pitched her voice lower to mimic her sister’s. “‘I just admire a self-made woman.’” 

His grin spread wider, and he pressed his palms together in gratitude. “Oh, that is very valuable intel. Thank you.” 

But Sasha had already moved on, her face screwed up in thought. “Now that you mention it, I did see this ECHO cast from Partali the other day. They were interviewing this local celebrity, she’s a siren—”

“A siren?!” He whistled low. “All right, aiming high, then.”

“She had amazing arms,” Sasha continued, a dreamy look of recollection. “And abs. Just solid muscle.”

Recalling just how many pieces of triple cheese and pineapple pizza he’d eaten for dinner, Rhys felt a twinge of regret. “Okay, abs and magic powers. High bar. Very specific. Kinda feeling like I need to start doing crunches.”

“Like I said.” Sasha grinned and leaned closer, hands poking at the soft parts of his belly until he began to squirm. “There are exceptions.”

Her poking turned to tickling, wringing involuntary laughter out of him. He tried to twist away, but Sasha moved closer, practically in his lap before he managed to grab her wrists. 

“I already know who yours would be.” She plunked her chin on his chest while he kept her arms pinned safely to her sides.

“Is that so?”

“Mmhm. You’re pretty obvious.”

“I am not obvious. I might seem obvious, but I have hidden depths. Like one of those weird lakes. And—”

“Zer0.”

Rhys’ objections died in his throat, replaced by an undignified noise as his cheeks warmed up. “Okay, I mean, yeah, but come on: mysterious ninja assassin. That’s like, everyone’s type.”

Sasha’s face landed just on the right side of the amusement-vs-judgement line. “It’s definitely not, babe.” She twisted out of his grip and sat back. “But it’s fine! I’m not jealous.”

“Sounds like something someone who’s jealous would say.”

“I mean it! I’m not jealous, because I know you’ve got no chance.”

His jaw dropped in offense. “Um, excuse me, I would totally have a chance.”

Lips pressed together in a conciliatory frown, Sasha shook her head.

“I could!” he insisted. “In fact, were I not such a loyal, devoted boyfriend—”

“Tell you what,” said Sasha, a teasing grin creeping across her face, “if that opportunity ever presents itself, you have my blessing to go for it.”

Not wanting to back down from a challenge, Rhys leaned into her personal bubble and narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think you really mean that.”

Sasha didn’t flinch. “I do. Consider it a hall pass.” Her grin widened. “Have fun.” 

“You’re clearly not thinking straight—”

“Oh?”

“—and out of respect for our relationship, I’m not going to act on something you’re saying impulsively in the heat of the moment.”

“Uh-huh.” She rolled her eyes, her face so close to his now their noses were practically touching. “Or maybe you know you’ve peaked with me.” With a flourish, she gestured to herself. “I’m as good as you’re gonna get.”

Rhys hummed in mock contemplation. “See, now, there you’re trying to insult me, but really you’re just kind of insulting yourself.”

Sasha’s mouth scrunched up as she tried—and failed—to think of a comeback. 

Ha. A rare victory. Rhys smirked in triumph.

“Just making sure you’ve come to terms with me not being a mysterious ninja assassin,” she said.

“Nobody’s perfect.” Rhys nodded as somberly as he could—which wasn’t very. “But don’t worry, Sash, I love you despite those obvious shortcomings.” 

“Wow. How magnanimous, from someone who’s _not_ a shredded, eight-armed siren.”

“Oh, she’s got eight arms now? That’s—that’s just cheating.”

“Yup. That’s seven more than you—”

“Uh, rude.”

“—but don’t worry, babe; I love you despite the obvious shortcomings.” 

Rhys shook his head. He moved back to his end of the sofa and turned back to the screen, chin held high in mock offense.

...Mostly mock offense.

“Starting to feel like you’re only with me for my tattoos,” he accused.

“Guilty.” She beamed at him out of the corner of his eye and flopped back down, nestling her head against the arm of the sofa. 

Once again, they settled into a mutual quiet, the inane dialogue from _Schlooting in the Rain_ filling the space. This time the silence was comfortable again, relaxed and familiar the way it ought to be with Sasha. 

Still, it lasted only a few minutes before being broken by Sasha once more. “So, you and this boyfriend…” Once she had his attention again, she tilted her head. “You guys actually watch this movie or did you just leave it on in the background while you fooled around on the couch?” 

Rhys pretended to consider it, though the blush in his cheeks probably gave away the truth. “Depends… how good are my odds that you get jealous and try to upstage him?”

Sasha shrugged. “Try me.”

“Well… let’s put it this way.” He nodded his head towards the screen. “I don’t remember the ending.”

A confident glint twinkled in her eyes, and Rhys thought that she’d been right earlier—he really couldn’t do better than her. He wasn’t certain better existed.

“C’mere.” Her hand grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him down overtop of her. “I’ll show you a memorable ending.”

**Author's Note:**

> You're always welcome to come say hi on [Tumblr](https://oodlyenough.tumblr.com/tagged/oodlyenough%20i%20write%20fic) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/oodlyenough) where I am @oodlyenough!


End file.
